• Distillery: Glen Grant
• Bottled by: Gordon & MacPhail
• Year: 1950
• Age: 65 years
• Number of bottles: 218
• Cask number: 2747
• Single cask and cask strength
• One of the oldest whiskies in the world

In the search of another great beverage, we visited Gordon & MacPhail yet again. We have managed to find a cask of a really old and exquisite whisky in their legendary, highly-protected warehouses. However, in case of this beverage, it was not only the age and quality that provided its uniqueness. The cask selected b is a truly one-of-a-kind beverage, which despite aging for 65 years was still characterised by a high alcohol volume of 59.3%. It is a rare phenomenon and each such beverage is a true gem on the alcoholic beverage market. We have decided to share this precious liquid with our clients and bottle it after its 65th birthday.

Wealth Solutions Team

Cask number 2747 was filled with a fresh distillate at the Glan Grant distillery in 1950. In the same year, there was the premiere of Disney’s Cinderella, SEAT was established in Spain, Robert Schumann announced the plan for the European Coal and Steel Community and there were first ever Formula One World Championships. 65 years have passed. For this whole time, the whisky was aging in a cask previously filled with sherry and gaining its unique profile. Finally, thanks to Gordon & MacPhail, it was poured into 218 bottles to be appreciated by collectors and whisky enthusiasts.

Over time, whisky loses its strength and volume while aging in casks. This is due to a slow evaporation process typical for all liquids. The part of whisky lost through evaporation is called the “Angels’ Share”. This process is irreversible and causes whisky that ages for many decades to contain rather low levels of alcohol. Sometimes the level falls below the legally required 40%. However, there are some exceptions and a cask kept in favourable conditions can retain the strength and volume of the distillate. Yet, this happens rather rarely. Glen Grant 1950 is an example of this unique process. Its alcohol volume is still extremely high despite the 65-year aging process. This is a real treat for collectors, especially as it has a truly unique aroma profile and rich flavour.

In 1840, in the town of Rothes near Aberlour, brothers John and James Grant founded a distillery which they named Glen Grant, or “the valley of the Grants”. Its location near the River Spey offered ideal conditions for whisky production. The quality of the place is confirmed by the fact that until today Speyside boasts the biggest cluster of distilleries in Scotland.

Many representatives of the Grant family, as well as whisky bottles they produced, have become legends. Over more than 170 years, the distillery has also become part of the regional landscape. In its honour, one of the first train engines in Scotland was named Glen Grant, just as was one of the pieces composed by the famous Scottish musician Scott Skinner. The distillery was also the country’s the first whisky plant powered by electricity. Currently, it ranks as one the largest whiskey makers in Great Britain.

Gordon & MacPhail is a living piece of Scottish history and tradition. This family business has been bottling single malt whisky for more than 120 years now. The company was founded by James Gordon and John MacPhail in 1895. Soon the start of its operation, the management board was joined by John Urquhart. His descendants have transformed the company into the largest independent bottler, producer and distributor of Scottish whisky in the world. Currently, the company is managed by the fourth generation of the Urquhart family.

In its warehouses, the company stores old casks that are not easily found in other distilleries. It boasts introducing to the market the oldest whiskies on record – Morlach 70 YO, Glenlivet 70 YO and Mortlach 75 YO. Gordon & MacPhail bottles Scotch produced by over 70 various makers and keeps winning, year after year, numerous industry awards recognizing the way it runs its business. Queen Elizabeth II has awarded the company for promoting whisky and selling it outside the United Kingdom.